In recent years photofinishing service providers have begun to supply what are known in the trade as “index prints” along with photofinishing process and print orders returned to the customer. These index prints consist of small thumbnail size images (also known as “imagettes”), one for each image printed in the order, typically arrayed on a single 4″×6″ sheet. Index prints often have a number printed in the corner of each imagette which corresponds to the frame number of the film from which the prints were made. These index prints are very useful for a quick review of the contents of the order as well as to identify particular negative frame numbers when the customer wishes to order reprints or enlargements.
With the advent of digital imaging, index prints have also proved useful to identify the contents of digital still image storage devices. For example, where digital still images are stored on a compact disk as in a product such as PhotoCD™, manufactured by the Eastman Kodak Co., and the compact disk is in turn stored in a plastic container “jewel case”, an index print is often included as an insert in the jewel case arranged so the imagettes corresponding to the contents of the compact disk are visible through the transparent cover of the container. More recently, products such as PictureCD™ and Picture Disk™ have been introduced. In the PictureCD™ product, a compact disk is prepared containing digital still images from a particular roll of film, and for Picture Disk™ the popular and well-known 3½ inch magnetic diskette storage medium (so called “floppy disk”) is used to store digital images, again from a particular roll of film. These storage media are returned to the customer in an envelope which also contains an index print very similar to that described above for a conventional photofinishing order.
A problem with index prints in general is that the imagettes on them are of necessity very small images where it may be difficult to comprehend important details such as, for example, the identify of individuals in a photograph or other aspects of the subject matter depicted. A related problem is with certain digital still image storage media where a very large number of images, in some instances as many as several hundred images or more, may be stored. With such a storage medium, it becomes impossible to create an index print of reasonable size where every still image stored on the medium is represented; the area available on a print of reasonable size is too small for this number of imagettes to be printed clearly.
Another problem with index prints is that the span of time or range of subject matter represented on them may be quite large. If the index print was made for a roll of film exposed over say, a year's time, then multiple events may have been photographed and it may be confusing to quickly comprehend the subject matter represented by that roll by a quick glance. Also, as mentioned above, digital still image storage devices may contain a very large number of images relating to a wide variety of subject matter or a particularly long span of time. Creating a useful index print for such a large number of images is difficult.
Still another problem with index prints is that there is the possibility that the index print can become physically separated from the negatives, prints or digital still image storage medium. For example, in the case of the jewel case storage box container or the print inserted in the envelope for PictureCD™, the index print may fall out of the container or envelope and be lost, making it difficult to identify the contents of the storage medium in any way other than booting up a computer to review the contents.